Thill-support



J. O. COFFEE. THILL SUPPORT.

(No Model.)

No. 587,644. Patented Aug. 3,1897.

Imniwr UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. COFFEE, OF DECATUR, INDIANA.

THlLL-SUPPO RT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,644, dated August 3, 1897.

Application filed March 8, 1897. Serial No- 626,509. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. COFFEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Adams and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Thill-Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its objectto provide new and improved devices for supporting the thills of a vehicle in an elevated position at any required height and for sustaining the shaft-supporting strap when not in use, so

that it will not hang suspended and dangle while the vehicle is traveling.

To accomplish this object, my invention consists in the features of construction and in the combination or arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view showing portions of a vehicle and its thills, with the latter held suspended by the supporting device, and indicating by dotted lines the manner in which the supporting device is sustained to prevent it from hanging down and dangling while the vehicle is traveling. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the improved thillsupporting device, and Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view of a portion of the dashboard to illustrate the manner in which 'a ring is applied thereto for sustaining the thill-supporting device and preventing it from hanging down and dangling.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to the drawings, wherein- The numeral 1 indicates the front axle of a vehicle, 2 the front spring, 3 the bolster or spring bar, 4 the thills connected in any suitable manner with the axle, 5 the ordinary cross-bar, which connects the thills together near their rear ends, and 6 the dashboard, all

of which parts may be of any desired construction suitable for the purpose in hand and obviously will vary according to the character or construction of the vehicle.

The improved shaft-supporting device con1 prises, essentially, a flexible strap 7, having at one end a snap-hook 8 of any suitable construction and at the other end a buckle 9 and strap 10, adapted to be engaged around the bolster or spring bar and secured in position by the buckle. The buckle 9 and strap 10 enable the shaft-supportin g strap 7 to be applied to bolster or spring bars which differ in size-that is to say, the rear end of the strap is adjustably connected with the bolster or spring bar. At a point between the snaphook 8 and the point where the supportingstrap 7 is adj ustably connected with the bolster or spring bar this strap 7 is provided with a series of holes or perforations 12. I prefer to employ two of these holes or perforations separated a suitable distance apart, but the number of holes or perforations may be increased or diminished to suit the conditions required for supporting the thills at different heights, as will hereinafter appear.

The connecting cross-bar 5 of the thills is provided on its under side with a pendent lug or pin 13, adapted to enter either one of the holes or perforations 12 in such manner that when the thills are raised to the desired height and the supporting-strap 7 is adjustably connected with the bolster or spring bar 3 in the manner described, the strap 7 canhe connected with the lug or pin 13, and thus the thills will be supported in an elevated position, as is desirable when the vehicle is not in use. The arrangement of the supporting-strap 7 and the lug or pin 13 is such that the thills can be readily disengaged from the strap by simply raising the thills slightly upward, which will relieve the pressure of the lug or pin against the edge of the hole or perforation in the supporting-strap, whereupon the latter will fall by gravity and the shafts can be lowered upon the animal to hitch the latter to the vehicle. In ordinary devices of this character the supporting-strap hangs suspended and dangles about while the vehicle is in use or is traveling, and to avoid this objection I provide the free extremity of the supporting-strap 7 with the snap-hook 8 before described, and place upon the dashboard 6 a ring 14, with which the snap-hook 8 can be engaged, whereby the supportingst-rap 7 will be sustained in the position indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 1, and obviously will not hang suspended and dangle about while the vehicle is in use or is traveling. The ring 14 is pivot-ally mounted and it is desirable to so secure it that the dashboard will not be damaged or marred, for which purpose I place the ring 1 L between two plates and 16, which are secured to the front of the dashboard at a suitable point thereupon through the medium of-screws 17, which pass through the plates 15 and 16 and engage a plate or washer 18 .at the inside of the dashboard.

The plates 15, 16, and 18 may be of any suitable material, but leather is preferred.

The improved devices described and shown serve to hold the thills raised where they will be out of danger of being broken and entirely out of the way. They hold the thills in such position that the thills can be conveniently dropped to the proper position 011 the animal, and the lowering of the thills can be efiected without leaving the head of the animal to disengage the strap 7 from the-lug or pin 13, as this can be automatically effected, as hereinbefore explained. The supportingstrap 7 is attached to the bolster or spring bar, and is therefore always in proper position for instant use, and when this strap is not in use the snap-hook 8 can be quickly engaged with the supporting-ring 14 for the purpose of sustaining the strap 7 from the dashboard, so that the strap will not hang suspended and dangle about.

The strap 10 may be buckled around both the bolster or spring bar and the spring, and

ordinarily this is done at a short distance from the center of the vehicle in such mam ner that the supporting-strap can readily pass forward under the cross-bar of the thills, so that either of the holes or perforations in the strap can be conveniently engaged with the lug or pin 13 for properly supportingthe thills in an elevated position.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim is- The combination with the dashboard of a vehicle, of two plates secured to the outer face of the dashboard, a swinging ring pivotally confinedin position between the plates, a thin-supporting strap having at one end a loop encircling the bolster or spring bar of the vehicle, provided at the other end with a snap-hook and intermediate its ends with perforations, and a lug or pin extending from the under side of the cross-bar which connects the thills, said perforations ofthe strap being designed to engage the lug or pin on the cross-bar of the thills and said snap-hook being designed to engage the pivoted ring on the dashboard, substantially as and for the purposes described In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 6o nesses.

JOHN C. COFFEE.

Vitnesses:

M. H. L. SMITH, ISAAC Ron. 

